A civil servant molested a drunken fresher student after offering to see her safely home.

Richard Bullock agreed to help the 18-year-old, a complete stranger, back to her halls of residence after she was turned away from a Bigg Market club, in Newcastle. After sharing a taxi to the Northumbria University campus, Bullock instead took advantage of the girl's condition, indecently assaulting her as she tried to push him away, Newcastle Crown Court heard. Two male student colleagues came to her aid. Bullock, 26, of Grainger Park, Newcastle, admitted the offence. Judge John Milford jailed him for 12 months, saying: "It must have been obvious to you that your attentions were unwelcome."